When you order something online from a place that has many retail stores does the order get fulfilled from anywhere?

In the days of the old Sears catalog and the Wells Fargo wagon, sure.

Now, the better "manufacturers" actually use "replicators" to create orders out of energy. (Star Trek is actually a documentary about many amazing advances which have occurred in/around our lifetimes, but framing it as science fiction to make it more palatable to the masses).

...and if you believe that, I have a bridge I just know you'll like, in the New York metropolitan area... 😉

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Seriously, online retail can be set up along different models.

1) Some retailers advertise out of their own, personal stock. This is true of

> Half-Price Books (hpb.com); this site shows aggregated listings, but I believe not every item for sale is also listed online except in, say, collectible items. In this case, orders can be fulfilled from many different stores.

> Restaurants posting menus online.

> Other smaller stores not part of a chain.

> University "property disposition" sales.

> eBay.

2) Some stores advertise stock which is primarily located/available through "fulfillment centers" (warehouses with staff). This is true of

> Amazon, the most obvious, and a site which allows various retailers to be incorporated through there site / fulfillment centers.

> Costco, which often may not have the stock of a selected local store ("warehouse") properly represented, but PRIMARILY shows regional warehouses just for online purchases. Their multi-week flyers note which items are "online only' or "online/in-store".

3) "Mixed" models which promote items both available at a location convenient to the buyer or primarily available online. It seems that their logistics include inter-store transfers as well as direct delivery from fulfillment centers.

> Many hardware stores (ACE & True Value hardware stores)

> DIY stores (HomeDepot, Lowe's, Menard's)

> Auto parts stores (AutoZone, AdvanceAuto, O'Reilly's)

> WalMart